Feature Story

16.Feb.02--Since its introduction in 1995, Java technology has grown up side-by-side with the World Wide Web. Like the Web, the Java platform has changed the way that individuals and businesses work, play, and access and interact with information. With the advent of Java technology-enabled Web pages, everything from games and other interactive entertainment to secure communications, data visualization, art, and financial tools now provide an enhanced online user experience. In short, from its inception, the Java platform has made the Net work better from the server to the desktop to the consumer. And like the Web itself, it just keeps getting better.

Mass Appeal

With the advent of new multimedia capabilities in the Java 2 platform, including enhanced sound and graphics, user interface improvements, important accessibility gains, and other developments, the consumer value of Java technology has increased exponentially.

So Sun made the Java 2 Runtime Environment (JRE) -- featuring Java Plug-in -- available for free download through the "Get Java Technology" web site. While the site is aimed at Windows XP computer users who have no Java platform support, the JRE with Java Plug-in is available for a range of other Windows systems, as well as Sun's Solaris operating environment and the Linux operating system.

Get Java Technology

The site features an automatic download process that detects the operating system, language preference (US English or international), browser type, and current Java virtual machine installed, if any. If the machine is not already up to date, and if it has the right combination of operating system and browser, the download and installation process begins immediately. Depending on network speed, the entire process, from click to completion, can take as little as five minutes. "Smoooooth," wrote a recent downloader, "I wish every download and install was like this one."

Automatic Download Detection

For those with a configuration that does not support automatic installation, the process presents a page of simple instructions that describes how to manually download the Java Plug-in and install. As it turns out, many users prefer the manual download so they can install Java Plug-in later, or on several different systems from a single download.

The site also features a showcase of intriguing, useful, and fun sites using Java technology-based applets and applications: submissions from developers and the public are reviewed and considered for inclusion.

Extensive help pages cover download, installation, configuration, and general Java technology questions. Finally, webmasters, system administrators, and applet developers (or would-be developers) will find content for them in the "Tech Zone."

Hundreds of thousands of downloads later, the wisdom of the decision to bring the Java 2 platform to consumer and business desktops is clear. Response has been strong and positive: "Thank you for saving my computer [from] going out of the window! I have installed XP and ... thanks to your Java system I can once again use the Internet. A very big Thank You."

What is Java Plug-in?

Java Plug-in is part of the Java 2 Runtime Environment: a software package that provides everything a program written for the Java platform needs to run on a particular kind of computer. The "Write Once, Run Anywhere" capability of Java technology derives from the availability of JREs for just about any size or kind of computer.

On a typical desktop computer, the JRE includes a launch program that creates a "virtual machine" -- a kind of software-based "computer within a computer" that runs Java language programs. The virtual machine uses the desktop computer to display on the screen, access the network, respond to the keyboard and mouse, and so on. The JRE also includes an extensive library of functions known as the Java Core Classes: the fundamental building blocks of Java platform programs.

This "computer within a computer" concept -- along with the standardized core classes -- isolates the Java language program from the details of any particular computer of operating system, making it easy to move programs written for the Java platform from one kind of computer to another. The virtual machine also provides a high level of security: the Java language program cannot directly access files, memory, network, display, or any other feature of the physical computer.

The "plug-in" portion of Java Plug-in is a small program that provides a bridge between the Web browser running on the desktop computer and the JRE. Once installed, Java Plug-in is triggered when a Web page containing a Java applet is encountered: the plug-in calls the launch program, which creates the virtual machine, which, in turn, executes the Java applet code.

Get Up to Date: Get Java Plug-in

Java Plug-in brings your browser up to date with the latest Java Runtime Environment, enabling you to enjoy the best that creative minds and the Java platform can deliver. Why not download today?

Note: The terms "Java virtual machine" and "JVM" mean a virtual machine for the Java platform.

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